Tag: mobile wallet

Vodafone Turkey is making it possible to simply look at a smartphone for authentication.

The Turkish branch of Vodafone has recently revealed that it will be using EyeVerify technology in order to boost the mobile security of its payments app, allowing customers to open their wallets simply by looking into the camera feature of their smartphones.

iPhone users of the Vodafone Cep Cüzdan mobile wallet app can already register their eyes.

In order to do this, they need only take a picture of their eyes. From that point on, in order to be able to get past the mobile security of their wallet app, they need to take a selfie in which they are looking at the camera. This verification feature is provided by way of the EyeVerify Eyeprint ID tech. That technology is actually able to create map of the unique pattern of veins within the user’s eyes. That is automatically converted into a complex 50 character password.

This mobile security technique takes the image of the individual’s eyes and transforms them into a complicated password.

The Eyeprint ID takes the image and encrypts and scrambles it locally. For this reason the actual image and information never has to leave the mobile device. This is meant to make the mobile wallet even more secure because it means that it cannot be intercepted, lost, or stolen, says EyeVerify.

The new partnership with Vodafone is the outcome of a new contract that has been established between Olcsan CAD Technology and EyeVerify in Turkey.

Biometrics are becoming an increasingly important part of the mobile payments and wallet experience as a growing number of tech companies choose to add additional verification over the traditional password experience.

The use of fingerprints is becoming more commonplace than ever in order to boost mobile security for a device or a specific app. In this case it is a matter of using the patterns in the eyes of the user instead of focusing on a fingerprint or thumbprint to identify each individual user and block the wrong parties from gaining access. It is more than likely that biometrics will start to appear in an ever broader range of uses as this tech becomes more broadly used for financial purposes.

The company has now added the ability to accept smartphone transactions through its credit card reader.

Square, the startup company that first drew attention to itself when it created a credit card reader that small businesses and merchants could use in order to accept credit card transactions, has now announced that mobile wallet transactions are being added to its accepted payment methods.

Though the adoption of smartphone payments isn’t expected to take off for a long time, Square will be ready.

The industry feels that there will still be years that need to pass before the mobile wallet becomes a mainstream form of payments transaction. Even though some giants have already offered their own versions of the technology – including Apple, Google, and various credit card and banking leaders – they have yet to take with consumers in any widespread way. That said, some feel – as Square likely does – that by providing merchants with a simple and affordable tool to actually accept these mobile payments, it may boost the feeling of familiarity with these transactions.

In fact, some have speculated that the mobile wallet may catch on even faster if enough processors are put in place.

It was in exactly this light that Square had unveiled its own updated credit card reader that could also accept mobile payments through the wallet apps of various companies, such as Android Pay and Apple Pay, among others.

Square has said that it expects the new version of its mobile payments reader to be broadly available by the fall of this year. It functions wirelessly for small businesses and sellers who want to be able to accept contactless transactions over a smartphone or tablet. That said, it also makes it possible for merchants to be able to accept EMV enabled credit cards, that is the type of plastic card that has an added security chip embedded into it.

The new mobile wallet payments reader will be sold for $49. That said, there will be around 250,000 small and medium sized businesses that will be receiving the readers for free as the company launches the devices and hopes to widen their use right from the start.